Friday, June 27, 2014

For any student to understand the critical nuances of a
profession one wishes to enter, internship is the first step to get first-hand
insight. In many professional courses, internship is mandated, while passionate
students driven by the desire to get hands-on experience would grab such
opportunities. Brilliant students who are career conscious and determined
to make the best use of their free time would scan the industry or businesses
where they would like to work, and approach them for internship.

Organisations look forward to interns to bring in new and
innovative ideas as well as engage them in projects that otherwise may remain
on their backburner, especially conducting quick market surveys, reaching out
to their customers, or even making interns try their products or services for
quick feedback.

There are variety of assignments that organizations offer to
an intern and more than anything else, internship is a valuable addition to
one’s resume. Many a times an organization may pick up a student for regular
employment after the completion of one’s internship period, provided the
candidate demonstrates real passion to learn, participates and works with the
team, picks up the finer elements of team work and coordination.

If you are just going to collect a certificate of your
attendance and not doing anything, the organization may blacklist your
educational institution from receiving future interns, and those who excel not
only ensure a better career prospect for themselves but also bring in good name
to their institution.

Wanting to be an Intern? Here are some Dos, and Don’ts.

Go to the internet and check out everything
about the organization you wish to intern with. If this fits your career
profile just go for it.

Brush up your own academic knowledge of the
subject and see what knowledge you can share with the organization or the
services that you may wish to render based on your own skills that would be
useful to them.

Even if you just want to be with the
organization to learn more, prepare a list of all the new skills that you wish
to acquire at the organization and the questions that you would like
answered.

Keep a diary. Develop the habit of
maintaining a diary not only to record the tasks that are assigned to you but
also to jot down your own observations of various processes to accomplish a
task that organization adopts. The manager you are working with may not
have enough time to teach you each and everything. You will have to ask to find
your answers.

Learn to report back and keep your
senior/trainee manager informed about the progress of your assignments, and in
case of any challenges in executing them, again ask as to how you could solve
it.

Most importantly, understand the office culture
and become a part of it, and a team player, always willing to take up any
assignment. Avoid disappearing for a day without informing anyone and
reappearing with a lame excuse. You will lose the respect if you are
indisciplined.

Respect the project deadlines.

Dress up formally. Many a times, young
boys and girls, straight from the college would either walk in with shorts,
painted t-shirts with weird messages emblazoned on their chest or equally
bizarre hairdos. Be formal. Dress up in formals.

In an organization, access to computers is
unlimited; don’t misuse it by spending time on social media.

Internship is the time to hone your skills, learn new ones,
and become employable, ready for the highly competitive world.